Jonathan Leshnoff's Chamber Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2015)

Performances of Jonathan Leshnoff's Chamber Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2015) at Classical Tahoe and with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.

Jonathan Leshnoff's music has been increasingly in demand in recent years, and no wonder. The Chamber Concerto is an impeccably written work; the writing for the violin balances lyricism and virtuosity, the form is clear, the orchestration beautifully effective, and the emotional message direct. I personally see in its two contrasting movements a representation of the sacred and the profane, and the inevitable connection between them. The first movement starts with a halo of strings encompassing the solo violin, whose song is sometimes echoed by the orchestra, and sometimes answered with an Amen. The second is a relentless perpetuum mobile, its hussle and bustle interrupted by references to the first movement, as though hinting that even in our hectic lives there are moments of spirituality.